redundancy advice for my brother

nickj_2

my brother works for a large retailer who if you watch their adverts make a great point of telling us how ethical they are .
he is in charge of the HR dept at their distribution centre .
last week they old him they were making him redundant because he couldn't cope with the job .
when he started he was just doing a 9-6 day but they also have a night shift which as he put it eploy people who are either causing a lot of trouble or not doing what they should be . his boss told him that they needed him there to sort out all the problems the night shift workers had or were causing , so basically he was going in a 9 in the morning and not getting home until 2-3 the next morning , this led to him having an exhastion breakdown with severe stress . the company have been totally unsympathetic to his plight ,
under normal circumstances you would normally go to the HR dept to sort these sort of things out , but as he is the HR he's got no one else to turn to , i woild have thought it was the company's duty to ensure the welfare of it's workforce which it clearly has not in this instance , i'm not sure if he belongs to a union ,
if anyone can throw any ideas of where he can go for help or where he stands legally - unfair dismissal i would be most greatful

thanks
nick

dickydonkin

You cannot be made redundant solely because you cannot cope with a job.

If your brother has been made redundant, the job he does must not exist any more as it is the role that is redundant or has become diminished - not the person and any redundancy procedures/policy the company have in place must be adhered to.

It would suggest from your post that the job has not been made redundant.

Has your brother had any appraisals or indications from management that his performance is not of the required standard?

Do the people who are 'causing problems' have a line manager/supervisor? If so as I suspect, surely it would be those people who seem inadequate by not managing the people they are responsible for.

As a HR person, it would surely be your brothers role to instigate disciplinary proceedings based on a managers/supervisors reporting of incidents.

You would need to clarify the reason for dismissal. If it is performance related (not redundancy) and your brother has not been informed that he needs to improve, it would seem unreasonable to dismiss without being given the opportunity to rectify any issues.

Your brother needs to check the company's redundancy and disciplinary procedures as something is not quite right based on your post. If the company have not followed their own procedures (including appraisal of staff) there may be potential to progress an unfair dismissal claim, however, the details on your post seem a little sketchy to determine if he is being treated unfairly.

zzzLazyDaisy

How long has he worked for the company?

Pete111

Doesn't sound like redundancy to me..

Sounds very much like he was dismissed as 'you are unable to cope with the job' is not a rationale for redundancy in my book.

If I were him I would appeal the 'redundancy' on the basis that it is a sham redundancy put in place soley in order to remove him instead of the company initiating the more appropriate performance/incapability proceedings. I would take legal advice on this and also in relation to the working hours demanded/stress etc. (Given he is HR I would be a bit surprised if he hasn't already done this)

nickj_2

he's worked there for approx 5-6 yrs , at first he was just working during the day , but they have had so much trouble with the night shift that he was asked to sort that out as well ,
a couple of years ago he was made about to be made redundant , but someone above his boss kicked up a stink , said that he was doing a great job and they got rid of someone else instead , so he is more than competant at doing the job , but after working 15 hr shifts for months on end i think he just cracked under the strain .

zzzLazyDaisy

As he has worked for the company for more than 12 months he has certain protections against unfair dismissal. From what you say, it doesn't sound like this was a genuine redundancy situation, or that they followed proper procedures. I suggest that he gives his local ACAS office a ring, they give free impartial advice on employment disputes and will tell him what his rights and options are.

Good luck

dickydonkin

"A couple of years ago he was made about to be made redundant , but someone above his boss kicked up a stink , said that he was doing a great job and they got rid of someone else instead"

You just cannot do that!

What kind of company is he working for? Surely it cannot be the company who is "Good with Food" - as the OP did mention a well known company always advertising how ethical they were - seems to be very little ethics shown here.

To make someone redundant, there are procedures to be followed and the company should have a redundancy policy that must be adhered to - obviously, if the above quote is correct, it is obviously not happening.

As I have stated earlier, if the job still exists, your brother has not been made redundant.

As he has been dismissed, he MUST have a letter explaining his reason for dismisssal - does it state 'for reasons of redundancy'?

If so, get him to obtain a copy of the company's redundancy/dismissal procedure/policy and check that the company have complied. As he works in HR, this should be no problem.

What is confusing me is that if he works as an HR PERSON, surely he should be familiar with at least some basic employment law.

Even if he has no CIPD qualifications, this is basic stuff here.

If he has had formal notification that he is indeed redundant, he will have the right to appeal the 'decision'.

I do not want to question or doubt the OP's interpretation of events, but I am wondering if his brother is forthcoming with all of the facts.